Early Morning Edition

Mike Fasano

06/07/2003

Big East

The next news
anyone hears regarding the Atlantic Coast Conference's plans for expansion is
likely to come from lawyers. Five Big East schools -- including Rutgers --
filed a lawsuit yesterday against Miami, Boston College and the ACC, accusing
them of "a deliberate scheme to destroy the Big East," with expansion plans that
would cause irreparable financial harm. Big East files suit to block
defection

Five Big East
schools sued Friday to try to prevent Miami and Boston College from jumping to
the Atlantic Coast Conference, accusing them of secretly taking part in an
expansion plan that could ruin the Big East. The lawsuit, filed in state
Superior Court in Hartford, Conn., says Miami and Boston College professed
loyalty to their conference while concocting a "deliberate scheme to destroy the
Big East and abscond with the collective value of all that has been invested and
created in the Big East." Schools sue to keep Big East
together - Courier News

After weeks of cordial dialogue, five Big East schools sued the
University of Miami, Boston College and the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday,
saying the two schools conspired in "a deliberate scheme . . . to destroy the
Big East and abscond with the collective value of all that has been invested and
created" in the conference, and that the "ACC's . . . actions are equally
reprehensible.KRT Wire | 06/06/2003 | 5
Big East schools suing Miami, BC, ACC; vote set for Monday

The
University of Connecticut joined four other Big East Conference schools Friday
in an uncomfortable and unprecedented lawsuit against two Big East members and
the Atlantic Coast Conference.The ultimate goal of the suit is to prevent
Miami and Boston College from leaving the Big East as part of an ACC expansion
plan. The success of the suit could be tested as early as Monday , when the ACC
is expected to formally invite Miami, BC and Syracuse to join the
conference.ctnow.com:
CONNECTICUT

The festivities
were being planned, with new faces to introduce and a vision of the new world of
college athletic superconferences ready to be unveiled, perhaps as soon as next
week, as the Atlantic Coast Conference went about what it thought was its final
business of expanding from nine to 12 teams with three new members from the Big
East, Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse.

But in a story with
more twists and turns than the Big Dig, the plans for expansion hit a huge speed
bump yesterday when five Big East schools filed a lawsuit in Connecticut
Superior Court in Hartford against not only the ACC, but BC and Miami, calling
them coconspirators in a ''scheme calculated to destroy the Big East.'' The suit
seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief.

A lawsuit filed
against Miami, Boston College and the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday isn't
expected to slow down the conference's approval of the two schools and Syracuse
for expansion and their withdrawal from the Big East Conference.

The vote
by the ACC's nine presidents will likely happen Tuesday or Wednesday, sources
said. Seven positive votes on each school would result in formal invitations,
which are likely to be accepted.Suit filed against
Miami

University of Miami
President Donna Shalala has indicated to ACC officials that the Hurricanes will
join the ACC upon receiving a formal invitation, said a high-ranking official
connected to an ACC school. Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said the lawsuit was
filed because of tactics used by the ACC, Miami and Boston College and the fact
the heads of the five plaintiff schools hit a wall when they tried to keep the
Big East intact through diplomacy.Big East sues to stop
exodus

Syracuse University
was conspicuously omitted as a defendant in a lawsuit filed Friday by five Big
East Conference schools against the University of Miami, Boston College and the
Atlantic Coast Conference. Connecticut, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh
and West Virginia are suing to stop Miami, Boston College and, ostensibly,
Syracuse, from leaving the Big East and joining the ACC, a move that could come
early next week. The lawsuit filed in State Superior Court in Hartford,
Conn., made several claims that Boston College and Miami promised to stay in the
Big East, prompting those schools to invest millions in their football teams and
facilities. Despite those promises, the suit claims Boston College and Miami
acted as conspirators to destroy the Big East while negotiating behind the
scenes to join the ACC.Big East schools sue to halt
ACC

The
following are quotes from Virginia Tech president Dr. Charles Steger, who
addressed the media Friday afternoon in the Bowman Room.Opening Comments
from Dr. Charles W. Steger:"I want to begin by reading you a letter that was
faxed to Boston College and to Miami this morning, authored by David Hardesty,
the president of West Virginia, but it was sent on behalf of the other four
institutions. It says, 'It is with great regret that I inform you, on behalf of
the University of Connecticut, the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia
Tech and West Virginia, that today a suit was filed in Connecticut against the
ACC, Boston College and the University of Miami. We have done so to protect our
interests. We still fervently hope this matter can still be resolved and that
the BIG EAST can be preserved, intact. However, we felt that we had no choice in
this matter.'hokiesports.com -
Football

BLACKSBURG -
Virginia Tech and four other Big East schools laid out a conspiracy theory
Friday. Last month, the ACC voted to hold formal talks with Miami, Syracuse
and Boston College. Details of the mating dance were revealed in a lawsuit filed
by Tech, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Rutgers in Connecticut
Superior Court against the ACC, Miami and BC. The suit contends the
defendants engaged in a "conspiracy" of "secret negotiations" while BC and in
particular Miami were assuring the Big East of their loyalty. The defendants
carried out in a "subterranean manner" a "scheme" to "destroy the Big East."
roanoke.com

The ACC's expansion
plans ran into a legal hurdle yesterday as five Big East schools sued the league
-- as well as two of their fellow members, Miami and Boston College -- in an
effort to stop a defection they said would cause irrevocable harm.The lawsuit
was filed by the presidents of Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
and West Virginia -- the five football-playing schools that would remain in the
Big East if Miami, Boston College and Syracuse were to join the ACC -- in state
Superior Court in Hartford, Conn.In a 35-page argument, the suit alleges Miami,
Boston College and the ACC conspired in a scheme that was "calculated to destroy
the Big East and misappropriate its value for their benefit."Big East Schools Sue Over
Defections (washingtonpost.com)

Syracuse, expected
to join Miami and Boston College in bolting for the ACC, was not included in the
suit because the plaintiffs said they found no evidence the school had made
promises to remain in the Big East.But the legal threat may not deter the
three schools from joining the ACC as early next week. The Miami Herald reported
Friday that the Hurricanes would defect immediately after receiving an official
invitation, which could come Monday. Syracuse and BC are expected to follow
Miami's lead.ajc.com | Sports | Big East
sues to try to prevent ACC expansion

Duke law professor Paul Haagen, an expert in sports legal issues, said
the core of the plaintiffs' complaint rests on "certain fiduciary and
contractual duties, the exact nature of which is not spelled out in any detail,
but appears to rest on the Big East constitution and bylaws." Haagen, the
co-director of the Center for Sports Law and Policy, said the plaintiffs must
prove first that Miami was aware or reasonably aware that some other school was
going to act on their promises. Then, they must prove that the reaction to such
a promise was justified and put them at a detriment "in reliance on the
promise."heraldsun.com: Big East
schools sue over ACC expansion